Apparatus and method for replacing a battery in a portable terminal

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method for replacing a battery in a portable terminal are provided, in which there are a main battery and an auxiliary battery, a cover removal sensor senses the removal of a battery cover, and a controller switches from the main battery to the auxiliary battery for supplying a power in response to the battery cover removal, wherein the auxiliary battery supplies the power to some component of the portable terminal under the control of the controller.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) to a KoreanPatent Application filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office onJun. 14, 2011 and assigned Serial No. 10-2011-0057684, the contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a portable terminal, and moreparticularly, to an apparatus and method for replacing a battery in aportable terminal.

2. Description of the Related Art

Portable terminals such as smart phones and tablet PCs provide manyuseful functions to users through a variety of applications. Therefore,the portable terminals have evolved to provide various types of servicesand information beyond the traditional voice communication service.

Along with the diversification of functions in portable terminals, usersmanipulate their portable terminals more which in turn cause an increasein battery power consumption. Accordingly, the users frequently have toreplace the batteries.

To replace a battery, a user must turn off his or her portable terminal.However, the power-off of the portable terminal results in terminationof all on-going services in the portable terminal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of embodiments of the present invention is to address at leastthe problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantagesdescribed below. Accordingly, an aspect of embodiments of the presentinvention is to provide a method and apparatus for replacing a batterywithout power-off in a portable terminal.

Another aspect of embodiments of the present invention is to provide amethod and apparatus for continuously providing a specific service eventhough a battery is replaced during the specific service in progress ina portable terminal.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided an apparatus for replacing a battery in a portable terminal, inwhich there are a main battery and an auxiliary battery, a cover removalsensor senses the removal of a battery cover, and a controller switchesfrom the main battery to the auxiliary battery for supplying a power inresponse to the battery cover removal, wherein the auxiliary batterysupplies the power to some component of the portable terminal under thecontrol of the controller.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a method for replacing a battery in a portable terminal, inwhich a removal of a battery cover is sensed, a power is switched fromthe main battery to an auxiliary battery in response to the battery overremoval, wherein the auxiliary battery supplies the power to somecomponent of the portable terminal under the control of the controller.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above features and advantages of certain embodiments of the presentinvention will be more apparent from the following detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a portable terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation for replacing a batteryin the portable terminal according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation for replacing a batteryin a portable terminal in a communication system according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the portable terminalfor replacing the battery according to the embodiment of the presentinvention illustrated in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a Base Station (BS)for reconnecting a call after the battery of the portable terminal isreplaced according to the embodiment of the present inventionillustrated in FIG. 3.

Throughout the drawings, the same drawing reference numerals will beunderstood to refer to the same elements, features and structures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will be made to the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention with reference to the attached drawings. Like referencenumerals denote components having substantially the same functionthrough the specification and the drawings. A detailed description ofknown functions and operations will not be given lest it should obscurethe subject matter of the present invention.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a portableterminal is an electronic device that allows for easy carriage. The term“portable terminal” covers a broad range of terminals including a videophone, a portable phone, a smart phone, an International MobileTelecommunication 2000 (IMT-2000) terminal, a Wideband Code DivisionMultiple Access (WCDMA) terminal, a Universal Mobile TelecommunicationSystem (UMTS) terminal, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a PortableMultimedia Player (PMP), a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB)terminal, an e-book reader, a portable computer such as a laptop, atablet, etc., and a digital camera.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a portable terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the portable terminal includes a controller 101, amemory 103, a cover removal sensor 105, a power manager 107, a mainbattery 109, an auxiliary battery 111, a keypad 113, an audio processor115, a wireless transceiver 117, and a display 119.

The wireless transceiver 117 includes a Radio Frequency (RF) unit and aMODEM. The RF unit may include an RF transmitter for upconverting thefrequency of a transmission signal and amplifying the upconvertedtransmission signal and an RF receiver for low-noise-amplifying areceived signal and downconverting the frequency of thelow-noise-amplified signal. The MODEM may include a transmitter forencoding and modulating the transmission signal and a receiver fordemodulating and decoding the signal received from the RF unit.

The audio processor 115 may include a CODEC having a data CODEC and anaudio CODEC. The data CODEC processes packet data, and the audio CODECprocesses voice and an audio signal of a multimedia file. The audioprocessor 115 may reproduce a digital audio signal received from theMODEM by converting the digital audio signal to an analog signal throughthe audio CODEC or may convert an analog audio signal generated from amicrocomputer to a digital audio signal through the audio CODEC andtransmit the digital audio signal to the MODEM. While the CODEC has beendescribed as included in the audio processor 115, the CODEC may beconfigured separately or incorporated into the controller 101.

The keypad 113 may include alphanumeric keys for entering numbers andcharacters and function keys for setting various function, or atouchpad. If the display 119 is configured with a capacitive orresistive touch screen, the keypad 113 may include a minimum number ofpredetermined keys, and the display 119 may take over a part of the keyinput function of the keypad 113.

The memory 103 may include a program memory and data memories. Theprogram memory stores a program for controlling the common functions ofthe portable terminal. The memory 103 may further include an externalmemory such as a Compact Flash (CF), a Secure Digital (SD), a MicroSecure Digital (Micro-SD), a Mini Secure Digital (Mini-SD), an ExtremeDigital (xD), and a memory stick. The memory 103 may include a disk suchas a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) and a Solid State Disk (SSD). Further, thememory 103 stores the history of a service that the portable terminal isexecuting, upon request of the controller 101 and retrieves the storedservice history upon request of the controller 101.

Herein, the service may be any of various services that can be providedby the portable terminal. For example, the service may be anapplication, a camera service, a DMB service, a call service, acommunication service through a 3^(rd) Generation (3G) network orWireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), a video play service, a sound source playservice, or a game service, which is provided in the portable terminal.

The cover removal sensor 105 is provided on a cover covering the mainbattery 109 or on a bottom plate of the cover. Upon sensing a removal ofthe cover, the cover removal sensor 105 outputs a cover removalnotification signal to the controller 101, indicating the removal of thecover. The cover removal sensor 105 may include a switch, an opticalsensor, or a touch sensor. The display 119 may be configured with aLiquid Crystal Display (LCD) or an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED)(e.g. a Passive-Matrix OLED (PMOLED) or Active-Matrix OLED (AMOLED)).The display 119 outputs various types of display information generatedin the portable terminal The display 119 may include a capacitive orresistive touch screen, to thereby serve as an input unit forcontrolling the portable terminal, along with the keypad 113.

The power manager 107 controls charging of the main battery 109 withpower (e.g. a charging current value) received through a Travel Adapter(TA) or a Universal Serial Bus (USB) cable and supplies power receivedfrom the main battery 109 or the auxiliary battery 111 to each componentof the portable terminal. The power manager 107 may also outputinformation about the charged state and temperature of the main battery109 to the controller 101. The power manager 107 switches a power supplysource from the main battery 109 to the auxiliary battery 111 or fromthe auxiliary battery 111 to the main battery 109 under the control ofthe controller 101. Especially, the power manager 107 periodicallymeasures the voltage of the main battery 109 and outputs the voltagemeasurement to the controller 101. In alternate embodiment, the powermanager 107 may be incorporated into the controller 101.

The main battery 109 is detachably mounted to the portable terminal. Themain battery 109 has a larger capacity than the auxiliary battery 111and, when the portable terminal is powered on, provides power to eachcomponent of the portable terminal. The auxiliary battery 111 has acapacity of about 1 mA or below. When the portable terminal is poweredoff, the auxiliary battery 111 supplies minimum power required for thecontroller 101 to update time information to the controller 101 and ischarged with power supplied by the main battery 109. In the embodiment,even though the portable terminal is not powered off, the auxiliarybattery 111 supplies power to each component of the portable terminalunder the control of the controller 101.

The controller 101 provides overall control to the portable terminal.The controller 101 may switch and control an operation of the portableterminal according to a user input received through the keypad 113 orthe display 119. Especially, upon receipt of the cover removalnotification signal from the cover removal sensor 105, the controller101 transitions the portable terminal from a current operation mode tosleep mode and outputs a battery switch signal to the power manager 107,commanding switching of a power supply source from the main battery 109to the auxiliary battery 111. The sleep mode is a mode that minimizesthe power consumption of the portable terminal, and the controller 101may maintain the sleep mode for about 30 minutes by receiving power fromthe auxiliary battery 111.

The controller 101 receives the voltage of the main battery 109periodically from the power manager 107 and determines whether the mainbattery 109 has been replaced based on the voltage of the main battery109. For example, if the received voltage of the main battery 109 hasrisen from 0V to 3V, the controller 101 may determine that the mainbattery 109 has been replaced. On the other hand, if the voltage of themain battery 109 is kept to be 0V for a predetermined time period, thecontroller 101 determines that the main battery 109 has not beenreplaced. The predetermined time period is a time sufficient forreplacing the main battery 109. The predetermined time may be within arange from 10 seconds to 30 seconds.

If the controller 101 determines that the main battery 109 has beenreplaced, the controller 101 outputs a battery switch signal to thepower manager 107, commanding switching of the power supply source fromthe auxiliary battery 111 to the main battery 109. Then, the controller101 transitions the portable terminal from the sleep mode to activemode.

Upon receipt of the cover removal notification signal, the controller101 may also store the service history of a current on-going service inthe memory 103. After the main battery 109 has completely been replaced,the controller 101 may resume the service for a user according to thestored service history.

As the controller 101 operates in the above manner, the main battery 109can be replaced even though the user does not power off the portableterminal. In addition, despite the replacement of the main battery 109,the controller 101 can continuously provide a service executed beforethe battery replacement to the user.

While devices such as a Bluetooth module, a Global Positioning System(GPS) module, a camera module, a Wi-Fi module, an acceleration sensor, aproximity sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and a DMB receiver are not shownin FIG. 1 although they can be included in the portable terminal, thoseskilled in the art will understand that these devices can be provided inthe portable terminal and perform their functions.

For example, the acceleration sensor senses the movement state of theportable terminal by measuring the dynamic force of the portableterminal such as acceleration, vibration, impact, etc. for use insensing the display direction of the display of the portable terminal.The proximity sensor senses the proximity of a body part of a user withrespect to the portable terminal, for use in preventing malfunction ofthe portable terminal that provides a touch screen function. Inaddition, a gyroscope observes a kinetic motion of a rotating portableterminal, for use in sensing rotational motions of the portable terminalalong six axes, that is, up and down, sideways, back and forth, x-axis,y-axis, and z-axis rotational motions in conjunction with theacceleration sensor. The portable terminal may further include a cameramodule for capturing an image (a video or a still image). Duringcapturing of an image, position information acquired using the GPSmodule may be inserted into the captured image so that the user canidentify a position at which the photo has been taken.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation for replacing a batteryin the portable terminal according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the controller 101 executes a service selected by auser or a service scheduled to be executed at a predetermined time instep 201. The service refers to any service that can be provided by theportable terminal. For example, the service may be an application, acamera service, a DMB service, a call service, a communication servicethrough a 3G network or Wi-Fi, a video play service, a sound source playservice, or a game service, which is provided in the portable terminal.

In step 203, the controller 101 determines whether the cover has beenremoved from the main battery 109 without power-off of the portableterminal If the cover has been removed, the controller 101 proceeds tostep 205 and otherwise, the controller 101 repeats step 203. Uponreceipt of a cover removal notification signal from the cover removalsensor 105, the controller 101 determines that the cover has beenremoved. If the controller 101 has not received the cover removalnotification signal from the cover removal sensor 105, the controller101 determines that the cover still covers the main battery 109.

In step 205, the controller 101 stores the history of a current on-goingservice in the memory 103, transitions the portable terminal from itscurrent operation mode to the sleep mode, and switches the power supplysource from the main battery 109 to the auxiliary battery 111. Here, thehistory of a current on-going service may include a name of the internetapplication or other application and/or a specific web site address thata user was surfacing prior to the transition, so that the user canresume back to the same program or site prior to the sleep modetransition.

The sleep mode refers to a mode that minimizes the power consumption ofthe portable terminal.

In step 207, the controller 101 determines whether the main battery 109has been replaced. If the controller 101 determines that the mainbattery 109 has been replaced, the controller 101 goes to step 209. Onthe other hand, if the controller 101 determines that the main battery109 has not been replaced for a predetermined time period, thecontroller 101 goes to step 213. The controller 101 may monitor whetherthe main battery 109 has been replaced or not based on the voltage ofthe main battery 109 periodically output from the power manager 107.Herein, the predetermined time period is a time sufficient for the userto replace the main battery 109, within a range from 10 seconds to 30seconds.

For example, if the received voltage of the main battery 109 has risenfrom 0V to 3V, the controller 101 may determine that the main battery109 has been replaced. On the other hand, if the voltage of the mainbattery 109 is maintained to be 0V for a predetermined time period, thecontroller 101 determines that the main battery 109 has not beenreplaced.

In step 213, the controller 101 powers off the portable terminal.

Meanwhile, the controller 101 switches the power supply source from theauxiliary battery 111 to the main battery 109 and transitions theportable terminal from the sleep mode to the active mode in step 209.

After step 209, the controller 101 retrieves the service history fromthe memory 103 and resumes the service executed before the batteryreplacement using the service history in step 211. Here, the servicehistory includes a name of the service or application and a specific website. For example, when the removal notification signal is receivedduring a web surfing by using an internet application, the controller101 stores the service history, which includes a name of the internetapplication and a web site address in respect to the web surfing.

As the controller 101 performs steps 201 to 213 in this manner, the mainbattery 109 can be replaced without the need for power-off of theportable terminal. Further, even though the main battery 109 has beenreplaced, the controller 101 can continuously provide the user with aservice that was executed before the battery replacement.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation for replacing a batteryin a portable terminal in a communication system according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

With reference to FIG. 3, a description will be given of an operation inwhich a first portable terminal 301 replaces the main battery 101without power-off, while performing a call service with a secondportable terminal 305 through a Base Station (BS) 303. Before describingthe operation, it is assumed that the first portable terminal 301 hasthe same configuration as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The first portable terminal 301 establishes a call connection with thesecond portable terminal 305 through the BS 303 in step 307 anddetermines whether the cover has been removed from the main battery 109in step 309. If the cover has been removed, the first portable terminal301 proceeds to step 311 and otherwise, the portable terminal 301repeats step 309.

In step 311, the first portable terminal 301 transmits a standby modetransition request message to the BS 303, requesting transitioning ofcall mode to standby mode between the first and second portableterminals 301 and 305. The call mode refers to a mode in which a call isconducted between the first and second portable terminals 301 and 305,and the standby mode refers to a mode in which one of the first andsecond portable terminals 301 and 305 waits for a call with the otherparty.

The BS 303 releases the call connection from the first portable terminal301 in step 313, while maintaining the call connection with the secondportable terminal 305.

In step 317, the first portable terminal 301 transitions the firstportable terminal 301 to the sleep mode and switches the power supplysource from the main battery 109 to the auxiliary battery 111. The sleepmode refers to a mode that minimizes the power consumption of theportable terminal.

In step 319, the first portable terminal 301 determines whether the mainbattery 109 has been replaced. If the first portable terminal 301determines that the main battery 109 has been replaced, the firstportable terminal 301 goes to step 321. On the other hand, if the firstportable terminal 301 determines that the main battery 109 has not beenreplaced for a predetermined time period, the first portable terminal301 goes to step 327. Herein, the predetermined time period is a timesufficient for the user to replace the main battery 109, within a rangefrom 10 seconds to 30 seconds.

In step 327, the first portable terminal 301 powers off itself.

Meanwhile, the first portable terminal 301 switches the power supplysource from the auxiliary battery 111 to the main battery 109 andtransitions the first portable terminal 301 from the sleep mode to theactive mode in step 321.

After step 321, the first portable terminal 301 transmits a call modetransition request message to the BS 303, requesting transitioning ofthe standby mode to the call mode between the first and second portableterminals 301 and 305 in step 323.

In step 325, the BS 303 reconnects the call between the first and secondportable terminals 305, thus re-establishing the call connection betweenthem.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the portable terminalfor replacing the battery according to the embodiment of the presentinvention illustrated in FIG. 3

Referring to FIG. 4, the first portable terminal 301 establishes a callconnection with the second portable terminal 305 through the BS 303 instep 401 and determines whether the cover has been removed from the mainbattery 109 in step 403. If the cover has been removed, the firstportable terminal 301 proceeds to step 405 and otherwise, the portableterminal 301 repeats step 403.

In step 405, the first portable terminal 301 transmits a standby modetransition request message to the BS 303, requesting transitioning ofthe call mode to the standby mode between the first and second portableterminals 301 and 305 and releases the call connection from the BS 303.

In step 407, the first portable terminal 301 transitions to the sleepmode and switches the power supply source from the main battery 109 tothe auxiliary battery 111.

In step 409, the first portable terminal 301 determines whether the mainbattery 109 has been replaced. If the first portable terminal 301determines that the main battery 109 has been replaced, the firstportable terminal 301 goes to step 411. On the other hand, if the firstportable terminal 301 determines that the main battery 109 has not beenreplaced for a predetermined time period, the first portable terminal301 goes to step 415.

In step 415, the first portable terminal 301 powers off itself.

Meanwhile, the first portable terminal 301 switches the power supplysource from the auxiliary battery 111 to the main battery 109 andtransitions from the sleep mode to the active mode in step 411.

After step 411, the first portable terminal 301 transmits a call modetransition request message to the BS 303, requesting transitioning ofthe standby mode to the call mode between the first and second portableterminals 301 and 305 in step 413. Then, the first portable terminal 301reestablishes the call connection with the second portable terminal 305.

As the first portable terminal 301 performs steps 401 to 415 in thismanner, it can allow for replacement of the main battery 109 withoutpower-off during a call with the second portable terminal. In addition,since the first portable terminal 301 reconnects the call to the secondportable terminal 305 as soon as the main battery 109 has beencompletely replaced, the replacement of the main battery 109 ispossible, without terminating the call service.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the BS forreconnecting a call after the battery of the portable terminal isreplaced according to the embodiment of the present inventionillustrated in FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 5, the BS 303 establishes a call connection betweenthe first and second portable terminals 301 and 305 in step 501 anddetermines whether a standby mode transition request message has beenreceived from the first portable terminal 301 in step 503. Upon receiptof the standby mode transition request message, the BS 303 proceeds tostep 505 and otherwise, the BS 303 repeats step 503.

In step 505, the BS 303 releases the call connection from the firstportable terminal 301, while maintaining the call connection with thesecond portable terminal 305 from which the call connection to the firstportable terminal 301 has been released.

The BS 303 determines whether a call mode transition request message hasbeen received from the first portable terminal 301 in step 507. Uponreceipt of the call mode transition request message, the BS 303 proceedsto step 509 and otherwise, the BS 303 repeats step 507.

In step 509, the BS 303 reconnects the call between the first and secondportable terminals 301 and 305, thus re-establishing the call connectionbetween them.

Additionally, the BS 303 maintains the call connection with the secondportable terminal 305 for a predetermined time period. If the call modetransition request message has not been received from the first portableterminal 301 for the predetermined time period, the BS 303 may releasethe call connection from the second portable terminal 305. Thepredetermined time period represents a duration sufficient for replacingthe main battery 109. For example, the predetermined time period may bewithin a range from 10 seconds to 30 seconds.

As the BS 303 performs steps 501 to 509 in this manner, even though themain battery 109 has been replaced, an on-going service can continuebetween the first and second portable terminals 301 and 305.

As is apparent from the above description of the present invention,since power is supplied through an auxiliary battery during batteryreplacement, a battery can be replaced without the need for power-off ofa portable terminal.

Further, the service history of a specific service being executed beforethe battery replacement is stored so that the specific service maycontinue in spite of the battery replacement of the portable terminal.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to embodiments thereof, they are purely exemplary. Forexample, while it has been described above that a call service iscontinuously provided even though a battery is replaced in a portableterminal during the call service in progress, the same thing isapplicable to a DMB service, a Wi-FI service, a game service, a camerafunction, a music play function, a video playback function, etc.

Therefore, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the artthat various changes in form and details may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention as definedby the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for replacing a battery in aportable terminal, comprising: a main battery:, an auxiliary battery; acover removal sensor for sensing a removal of a battery cover ; and acontroller for, in response to the battery cover removal, controlling tobe switched from the main battery to the auxiliary battery for supplyinga power; wherein the auxiliary battery supplies the power to somecomponent of the portable terminal under the control of the controller,and the cover removal sensor generates a cover removal notificationsignal when the removal of the battery cover is sensed, and upon receiptof the cover removal notification signal during a call service, thecontroller transmits a standby mode transition request to a base stationrequesting transitioning of the portable terminal from a call mode to astandby mode.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein when the portableterminal transitions from the sleep mode to a active mode, thecontroller transmits a call mode transition request to the base stationrequesting transition from the standby mode of the portable terminal tothe call mode.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the controllerresumes the call service with the portable terminal in communicationwith another portable terminal.
 4. A method for replacing a battery in aportable terminal, comprising: sensing a removal of a battery cover;generating a cover removal notification signal when the removal of thebattery cover is sensed; transmitting a standby mode transition requestto a base station requesting transitioning of the portable terminal to astandby mode in response to the cover removal notification signal duringa call service; and transmitting a call mode transition request to thebase station requesting transitioning from the standby mode to the callmode when the portable terminal transitions from the sleep mode to theactive mode, in response to the battery cover removal, controlling to beswitched from the main battery to the auxiliary battery for supplying apower: wherein the auxiliary battery supplies the power to somecomponent of the portable terminal under the control of the controller.5. The method of claim 4, further comprising resuming the call servicewith another portable terminal in communication with the portableterminal.